With vegan “replacement” foods like tempeh (or coconut) for bacon; nuts and nutritional yeast for Parmesan cheese; seitan for sausage – the key to satisfaction and appeal is replicating familiar flavors. This is what makes transitioning from a animal-centric diet to a plant-based diet easier and lets us enjoy our favorite tastes (and food-connected memories) without causing harm to animals.
Raw foods also offer extreme examples of this. Raw cake? Pasta made out of curls of raw vegetables? They don’t sound very appealing until tasted and we discover that what we love about (baked) cakes and (grain) pastas remains in their raw counterparts. When I set out to make a raw, gluten-free version of richly-flavored black bread, I knew it was essential to include its signature flavors: chocolate, molasses (the only non-raw ingredient here), and especially caraway. The buckwheat groats give this bread a nice, hearty chew. Enjoy these topped with my raw Roasted Garlic & Fresh Herb Cream Cheez from my upcoming cookbook, Crave Eat Heal.
I shared this recipe on Real Food Fridays and Gluten Free Fridays!
Gluten-free Raw Black Bread
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 1440
- Total Time: 1450
- Yield: 36 1x
Description
A healthy, whole food raw cracker full of the familiar flavors of traditional black bread.
Ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat groats, soaked overnight, rinsed, & drained
- 1 cup raw walnuts, soaked overnight, rinsed, & drained
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp. molasses or agave nectar
- 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
- 1 Tbsp. cacao powder
- 1 Tbsp. caraway seeds
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Pulse the buckwheat and walnuts to break them up a bit. Then add the water, garlic, red onion, lemon juice, and molasses or agave and process until smooth.
- Scrape mixture into a large bowl. Add the flaxseed meal, cacao, caraway seeds, and black pepper and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Spread the mixture onto a Teflex dehydrator sheet to about 1/4″ thick. Gently score the dough into large rectangles or squares.
- Dehydrate at 115-degrees F for 8-10 hours – or until the desired consistency is reached. I prefer mine to be a bit soft/flexible, but if you like a cracker consistency, you may need to dehydrate for 12 or more hours. About halfway through, I flip the dough over onto a mesh sheet to speed the drying time.
- Carefully break the bread apart and store in an airtight container.
Yum! I officially need a dehydrator, but the times seem rather scary – I don’t know if I would be patient enough to wait 8 hours! Still, that bread looks might tempting. 😀
Perfect! About how much does it make, dehydrator tray wise? Would I be okay doubling the recipe?
That is the most difficult part about dehydrating foods! I want it now! But it’s worth the wait :-).
This looks so inviting! A dehydrator is one piece of fun kitchen gadgetry I still have to obtain. Someday!! 🙂
I know this must be wonderful with your cream cheese….mmmmmm! About how many trays did you fill up? Trying to get a feel for whether the recipe could be doubled. I’m like you, I tend to nibble from my dehydrator throughout the drying time cause I can’t wait. Just ‘test tastes’ right? Looks so good. Love black bread
This made *almost* one full tray. Yes, yes, of course you have to check for the right consistency!
Hooray! I have so much buckwheat, I don’t know what to do. Any way to make this sans the dehydrator though? I used to have a lovely Excalibur, but sold it because I rarely used it. Boo.
Ha! I just ran out of buckwheat, so we ought to team up ;-)! I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure this would work in a very low oven. You might keep the door open slightly. Just check often for consistency.
I need this in my life! I’m finally accepting that oil really messes me up!
Oil is (mostly) evil! It’s tough to kick the habit 100% – I’m not quite there – but I feel good when I can make something without it and love the results.
I don’t think that black bread is something I’ve ever had in any form but this version sure looks delicious!
I think this may be the nail in the “I need a dehydrator” coffin! Your cream cheese looks fabulous on those slabs of bread!!!
Hehe – one of these days you’ll land one.
I like the look of this, it looks like German rye bread. I’m wondering, does raw food tend to keep better than cooked/baked food?
It’s very close to a hearty rye, Lorna. And yes, these keep much better than fresh bread – guess it’s the lack of moisture.
Looks awesome Annie! I want to slather everything on that bread. Love the buckwheat groats!
I’m a bit obsessed with them right now!
This is really interesting Annie, I’ve never heard of black bread before!
It’s an Eastern European/Russian bread – very hearty and chewy.
Very interesting! I don’t have a dehydrator, I always wonder if a low oven would work in dehydrated recipes.. Do you happen to know?
Poppy, I haven’t tried it – but baking them on your lowest temp with the door slightly ajar should do the trick. Bake until crispy.
I still haven’t jumped on the raw food bandwagon, but you’re edging me closer and closer chica! Celeste 🙂
Georgous raw crackers, Anne. Waw even. Your spread on top of that is a Yummy tasty idea.
Thanks, girl!
You are welcome..
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This is a very unusual recipe but I love it. Such healthy ingredients. It’s amazing what you can do with food substitution isn’t it. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays Blog Hop.
Hi Just wanted to let you know that I choose your Raw G/F Black Bread as one of my features this week on Real Food Fridays Blog Hop. Thank you for sharing with us and looking forward to seeing you each week.
That’s awesome! Thanks, Marla!
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